Learning and Recognizing Archeological Features from LiDAR Data

We present a remote sensing pipeline that processes LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data through machine & deep learning for the application of archeological feature detection on big geo-spatial data platforms such as e.g. IBM PAIRS Geoscope. Today, archeologists get overwhelmed by the task of visually surveying huge amounts of (raw) LiDAR data in order to identify areas of interest for inspection on the ground. We showcase a software system pipeline that results in significant savings in terms of expert productivity while missing only a small fraction of the artifacts. Our work employs artificial neural networks in conjunction with an efficient spatial segmentation procedure based on domain knowledge. Data processing is constraint by a limited amount of training labels and noisy LiDAR signals due to vegetation cover and decay of ancient structures. We aim at identifying geo-spatial areas with archeological artifacts in a supervised fashion allowing the domain expert to flexibly tune parameters based on her needs

Paisajes tradicionales asistidos por galerías drenantes : un patrimonio cultural y territorial amenazado

El uso del agua ha configurado paisajes a lo largo de la historia en ámbitos áridos y semiáridos, como es el caso de la Región de Murcia, gracias a los sistemas de galerías drenantes, que han permitido la creación de espacios regados y la configuración de un patrimonio territorial y cultural. Sin embargo, los sondeos profundos y los cambios en el territorio desde los años 80 del siglo XX están provocando el abandono de estos ingenios hidráulicos. La investigación trata de determinar las características de estos complejos de abastecimiento a través del análisis de documentación y el trabajo de campo. Los resultados muestran el paulatino abandono de estas construcciones, lo cual se traduce en la pérdida de paisajes históricos, caracterizados por la presencia de un patrimonio hidráulico singular. Se requiere su puesta en valor y la adopción de medidas para reconocer este legado patrimonial.L'ús de l'aigua ha configurat paisatges al llarg de la història en àmbits àrids i semiàrids, com és el cas de la Regió de Múrcia, gràcies als sistemes de galeries drenants, que han permès la creació d'espais regats i la configuració d'un patrimoni territorial i cultural. No obstant això, els sondejos profunds i els canvis en el territori des dels anys 80 de segle XX estan provocant l'abandonament d'aquests enginys hidràulics. La investigació pretén determinar les característiques d'aquests complexos de proveïment mitjançant l'anàlisi de documentació i el treball de camp. Els resultats mostren el progressiu abandonament d'aquestes construccions, la qual cosa es tradueix en la pèrdua de paisatges històrics, caracteritzats per la presència d'un patrimoni hidràulic singular. Es requereix la seva valoració i l'adopció de mesures per reconèixer aquest llegat patrimonial.The use of water has shaped landscapes throughout history in arid and semi-arid areas, such as the Region of Murcia, thanks to the draining gallery systems, which have allowed the creation of irrigated spaces and the configuration of a territorial and cultural heritage. However, deep drilling and territory changes since the 1980s are causing the abandonment of these hydraulic devices. This research tries to determine the characteristics of these supply facilities, through documentation analysis and field work. The results show the gradual abandonment of these constructions, which leads to the loss of historical landscapes, characterized by the presence of a unique hydraulic heritage. Its enhancement and the adoption of measures to recognize this heritage legacy are required.L'utilisation de l'eau a façonné les paysages à travers l'histoire dans les zones arides et semiarides, comme c'est le cas de la Région de Murcie, grâce aux systèmes de galeries de drainage, qui ont permis la création d'espaces irrigués et la configuration d'un territoire et d'un héritage culturel. Cependant, les sondages profonds et les changements du territoire depuis les années 80 du 20eme siècle ont provoqué l'abandon de ces dispositifs hydrauliques. La recherche tente de déterminer les caractéristiques de ces complexes d'approvisionnement, à travers une analyse documentaire et des travaux sur le terrain. Les résultats montrent l'abandon progressif de ces constructions, ce qui se traduit par la perte de paysages historiques, caractérisés par la présence d'un patrimoine hydraulique singulier. Leur valorisation et l'adoption des mesures sont nécessaires pour reconnaître cet héritage patrimonia

Qanats Ameliorate Impacts Due to the Desertification of the Libyan Sahara

This study looks at the city of Germa within the Fezzan region of Libya. The city is located at the base of an escarpment and is surrounded by sand due to the hyper-arid environment. Understanding the past and how this area developed give perspective on how people are living there now. This study focuses on the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene when there were periods of humidity and aridity. The cause for these fluctuations could be the result of planetary behaviors and cycles influencing the solar radiation upon Earth. The periods of humidity were known as a Green Sahara or African Humid Period. During the last humid period, large lakes existed that eventually disappeared leaving underground water sources that are still utilized today. When the water disappeared and the land became arid, most people migrated. One civilization, the Garamantians, not only stayed but also thrived. Once known as pastoral farmers, the Garamantians established an empire centered on agriculture, trading, and slavery. Much of their culture came from Egypt or Persia with Roman influences. They adopted the Persian foggara technology, which consists of a sub-horizontal underground tunnel that uses gravity to transport water for irrigation. The eventual decline of the water table led to the demise of the Garamantian Empire. Today, the foggara is referred to as a qanat and even though they are still utilized, motorized pumps are replacing them. The use of pumps, however, overdraws the water and without a source of replenishment, groundwater sources are becoming depleted.School of Earth Sciences Field Experiences Travel Fund scholarshipNo embargoAcademic Major: Earth Science

Automated Extraction of the Archaeological Tops of Qanat Shafts from VHR Imagery in Google Earth

Qanats in northern Xinjiang of China provide valuable information for agriculturists and anthropologists who seek fundamental understanding of the distribution of qanat water supply systems with regard to water resource utilization, the development of oasis agriculture, and eventually climate change. Only the tops of qanat shafts (TQSs), indicating the course of the qanats, can be observed from space, and their circular archaeological traces can also be seen in very high resolution imagery in Google Earth. The small size of the TQSs, vast search regions, and degraded features make manually extracting them from remote sensing images difficult and costly. This paper proposes an automated TQS extraction method that adopts mathematical morphological processing methods before an edge detecting module is used in the circular Hough transform approach. The accuracy assessment criteria for the proposed method include: (i) extraction percentage (E) = 95.9%, branch factor (B) = 0 and quality percentage (Q) = 95.9% in Site 1; and (ii) extraction percentage (E) = 83.4%, branch factor (B) = 0.058 and quality percentage (Q) = 79.5% in Site 2. Compared with the standard circular Hough transform, the quality percentages (Q) of our proposed method were improved to 95.9% and 79.5% from 86.3% and 65.8% in test sites 1 and 2, respectively. The results demonstrate that wide-area discovery and mapping can be performed much more effectively based on our proposed method

Dynamics of Land Use, Environment, and Social Organization in the Sasanian Landscape of Eastern Iraq—Western Iran

Understanding human-environment interactions has been one of the main challenges in archaeological studies over recent years. Past research on the Near Eastern territorial empires in general, and the Sasanian Empire in particular, primarily emphasized the dominant role of human on landscape transformation. In addition, politically centralized schemes such as agricultural intensification and expansion of water supply systems have been at the center of most of the discussions and remained the main hypothesis of the Sasanian land use practices. This dissertation investigates population’s diverse responses to environmental variability during the Sasanian period (224-651 CE) across a landscape in eastern Iraq—western Iran. Two coping mechanisms of mobility and intensification, and how they shaped settlement and land use patterns are explored. Intensification is defined as a strategy to increase land productivity and to buffer against production failure risks, while mobility is as an adaptive strategy that takes advantage of spatial and temporal variation in environment and resource availability. Situated between the arid alluvial lowlands of southern Mesopotamia and highlands of the Zagros Mountains, the study area is comprised of a patchwork of microenvironmental zones, where its dynamic and often fluctuating climate can, on one hand, create uncertainties in land use, and on the other hand, create a zone of connection between different lifeways. With an interdisciplinary approach, I apply remote sensing and geospatial techniques, in conjunction with archaeological field survey, ethnoarchaeological data, and environmental records to reconstruct the past landscape and its anthropogenic and natural elements. Results of this research argue that we need to move beyond the exclusive model of intensification in describing settlement and land use systems of the time. This research takes a critical position against the dichotomized perspective that separates sedentary agriculturalists from mobile agropastoralists. Results show that the study area was home to an intertwined lifeway consisting of both populations and show an integrated land use based on both intensification and mobility practices. Finally, although this study only focuses on the Sasanian period, it presents a base to further research on the long-term history of human interactions with the environment

LIDAR based semi-automatic pattern recognition within an archaeological landscape

LIDAR-Daten bieten einen neuartigen Ansatz zur Lokalisierung und Überwachung des kulturellen Erbes in der Landschaft, insbesondere in schwierig zu erreichenden Gebieten, wie im Wald, im unwegsamen Gelände oder in sehr abgelegenen Gebieten. Die manuelle Lokalisation und Kartierung von archäologischen Informationen einer Kulturlandschaft ist in der herkömmlichen Herangehensweise eine sehr zeitaufwändige Aufgabe des Fundstellenmanagements (Cultural Heritage Management). Um die Möglichkeiten in der Erkennung und bei der Verwaltung des kulturellem Erbes zu verbessern und zu ergänzen, können computergestützte Verfahren einige neue Lösungsansätze bieten, die darüber hinaus sogar die Identifizierung von für das menschliche Auge bei visueller Sichtung nicht erkennbaren Details ermöglichen. Aus archäologischer Sicht ist die vorliegende Dissertation dadurch motiviert, dass sie LIDAR-Geländemodelle mit archäologischen Befunden durch automatisierte und semiautomatisierte Methoden zur Identifizierung weiterer archäologischer Muster zu Bodendenkmalen als digitale „LIDAR-Landschaft“ bewertet. Dabei wird auf möglichst einfache und freie verfügbare algorithmische Ansätze (Open Source) aus der Bildmustererkennung und Computer Vision zur Segmentierung und Klassifizierung der LIDAR-Landschaften zur großflächigen Erkennung archäologischer Denkmäler zurückgegriffen. Die Dissertation gibt dabei einen umfassenden Überblick über die archäologische Nutzung und das Potential von LIDAR-Daten und definiert anhand qualitativer und quantitativer Ansätze den Entwicklungsstand der semiautomatisierten Erkennung archäologischer Strukturen im Rahmen archäologischer Prospektion und Fernerkundungen. Darüber hinaus erläutert sie Best Practice-Beispiele und den einhergehenden aktuellen Forschungsstand. Und sie veranschaulicht die Qualität der Erkennung von Bodendenkmälern durch die semiautomatisierte Segmentierung und Klassifizierung visualisierter LIDAR-Daten. Letztlich identifiziert sie das Feld für weitere Anwendungen, wobei durch eigene, algorithmische Template Matching-Verfahren großflächige Untersuchungen zum kulturellen Erbe ermöglicht werden. Resümierend vergleicht sie die analoge und computergestützte Bildmustererkennung zu Bodendenkmalen, und diskutiert abschließend das weitere Potential LIDAR-basierter Mustererkennung in archäologischen Kulturlandschaften